Metatarsal and outer longitudinal arch support



yMay 3, 1949. E. F. MALouF l METATARSAL AND OUTER LONGITUDINALARCH SUPORT Fi'led Feb. 1, 1947 INVENTOR.

AT T0122 N E-Y s Patented May 3, 1949 METATARSAL AND OUTER LONGITUDINAL ARCH SUPPORT Edward F. Malouf, San Jose, Calif. Application February 1, 1941, Serial No. 725,771

` (c1. :is-71) 3 Claims.

In the bone structure oi a normal human foot. atransverse arch called the anterior metatarslal arch is formed between the heads of the rst and fifth metatarsais with the second, third and fourth metatarso-phalanx joints being elevated above the first and fifth metatarsals. This gives three bearing points to the normal foot, one at the os calcis, Aanother at the` iirst metatarsophalangeal joint and the third at the ith metatarso-phalangeal joint. When the anterior'metatarsal arch is normal. there is a normal dome- Alike shaping between the great toe joint and the little toe joint.

The twenty-six bones in the foot provide four arches known as the inner longitudinal arch, the outer longitudinal arch, the anterior metatarsal arch and the transverse arch. The innerlongitudinal arch is the long arch of the foot and extends from the os calcis forward to the first metatarso-phalangeal joint. The outer longitudinal arch has a very slight elevation and extends fromv the os calcis forwardly to the iifth metatarso-phalangeal joint. The yanterior metatarsal arch is very important because it serves as a spring balance to absorb shocks to the foot when walking over unevensuriaces. The transverse arch extends across the foot between the cuboid and internal cuneiform.bone;y The purpose of the arches is to increase the strength and elasticity ofthe foot and atl the same time to provide a hollow space for protecting the muscles, nerves, arteries and veins from pressure. If these arches are depressed, they at once interfere with other natural functions of the foot and human body.

A person whose metatarsal bones are in proportionate length ycan suffer .from metatarsal arch weakness: of the second, thirdand fourth metatarsal heads asl a whole or in part. This happens when the hypermobility of the ilrst metatarsal segment is present and sufiicient weight is placed on the metatarsals to force them downward. In contrast, a foot-showing shortness of the rst,l second and third metatarsal 4heads for example, renders them incapable of receiving a proper distribution of weight when in their normal plane. When pressure bears on them, they are forced downward so that they can support the body weight, but at the lexpense of stra-in on the muscles. ligaments and tendons attached to. them. and this gives rise to fatigue. cramps and pain.

The usual arch support of metal when-worn, relieves ythe painful condition in some cases agiter a .pea-ieriv of. breakin? in- Also eenzij-insoles `'of leather or other material with risers oi a soft composition such as rubber are used to cushion the fallen metatarsal bones and endeavor to bring them back to normal. The risers are usually not sufficiently inclusive in area and frequently prove more painful than the condition they are designed to relieve. The cushion is usually placed approximately at the middle of the semi or whole insole orv arch support.

The principal object of my invention is to provide a metatarsal and outer longitudinal arch support which has a pad triangular in shape and placed on a semi or whole insole or arch supportl or the inner sole of a shoe to give the proper support to the second, third and fourth metatarsals.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device. of the type described which is simple in construction and which places the pad in the right position on a semi or full insole so that the placing of the insole in the shoe will bring the pad into the right relation so far as the anterior or metatarsal arch is concerned.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification, and the novel features of the device will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Myv invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawingl forming a part of this application, in which:

Figure l is a top plan view of the bones in a right foot and indicates the relative positions of themetatarsal pad, semi-insole and shoe with relation to the foot;

Figure 2- is an enlarged plan in'ew of the metatarsal pad and insole;

Figure 3v is a longitudinal section` taken along the line III--III of Figure 2 and shows the device in a shoe;

Figure 4 is a transverse section taken substantiallyl along the line IV--IV of Figure 1; and

Figure 5 is a transverse section taken along the line V--V of Figure 2.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should be understood that various changes or modications may be made Within the scope of the appended claims without irliieparting from the spirit and scope of the inven- A skeleton foot is shown in Figure 1 and the reference. numeral l indicates the rst, metatarsal, reference numeral 2 the second metatarsal and the numeralsv 3, 4 and lil the third,v fourth and .ilfth metatarsals, respectively. The improved ymetatarsal pad` is triangular in shape and is indicated by the dotted line generally at A and is preferably placed on the underside of a semiinsole, indicated generally at B. The insole is mounted in a shoe indicated by the dotted line C in Figures 1 and 3. The pad A is shown on a larger scale in Figure 2. The triangular pad or riser may be made of any resilient material desired and I use a soft composition, such as rubber, that is secured to the semi-insole B by any desired adhesive material. The insole may be made of leather or any other suitable material.

From the hundreds of casts of peoples feet that I have made, I nd that the pad or riser A should take the shape shown in Figure 2 which is in the nature of a triangle. When the anterior or frontal arch of the human foot shownby the heavy lined arrow D in Figure 1, reaches an unnatural condition produced by the dropping of any one or more of the second, third or fourth metatarasal bones 2, 3 or 4 to the level or below the level of the rst and fifth metatarsal phalanx-joints la and 5a, a misalignment of the anterior or frontal arch results. The ve proximal phalanges are indicated at 6 to I 0, inclusive, and are respectively the first, second, third, fourth and fth proximal phalanges. Instead of the first and fth metatarsals I and 5 bearing the weight of the body and a spring balance being produced and maintained between these metatarsals with the help of the second, third and fourth metatarsals, 2, 3 and 4, the weight is partially or wholly transferred to the second, third and fourth metatarsals or to all of them and causes discomfort to the person and sometimes severe pain. Painful calluses are formed due to this unnatural condition of the foot.

In seventy-five to ninety percent of the cases immediate relief is afforded if the second, third and fourth metatarsals 2, 3 and 4 are elevated to their former position by the use of the triangularshaped pad or riser A. The transverse convex curvature II of the in'sole B caused by the pad or riser as shown in Figure 4, supports the second, third and fourth metatarsals at the proper elevation. The foot E in this figure illustrates the normal arching of the metatarsal bones 2, 3 and 4.

The longitudinal contour of the insole B along the line III-III of Figure 2 caused by the riser or pad A, is shown in Figure 3 and is designed to give support to the second, tarsals 2, 3 and l where most needed while giving freedom to the heads 2a, .3a and 4a of these same three metatarsals. They cushion A has a recess I2, see Figure 3, which creates a depression or recess I3 in the upper surface of the insole and adjacent to the front edge I4. The metatarsal heads 2a, 3a. and 4a are received in the recess I3. The cushion A is graduated inthickness at the rim of the recess I2 for providing the required support to the metatarsals 2, 3 and Il. The thickened rim surrounding the recess starts at the point between the rst and second metatarsals, the positions of these being indicated by the lines Ib and 2b on the insole shown in Figure 2. The positions occupied by the metatarsals 3, I and 5, on the insole B are shown by the lines 3b, 6b and 5b. The thickened rim extends around and under the fifth metatarsal 5. The side edge I5 of the pad conforms more or less to the side edge I6 of the insole B and the pad portion adjacent to this `edge is designed to aid in supporting the outer longitudinal arch of the foot. The apex I1 of the pad aids in supporting the outer longitudinal arch so that it is brought to a more correct third and fourth metaposition and thus will function better. This arch comprises the os calcis I8, cuboid I9, fifth metatarsal 5, and the fifth proximal phalanx I IJ. The recess I3 is for the purpose of receiving the second, third and fourth metatarsal heads or calluses and relieves any pressure against this portion of the foot. The main support for the second to the fifth metatarsal is in back of the metatarsal heads and'is provided by the graduated thickened pad underlying this foot portion.

A normal foot has three bearing points which are at the os calcis I8, the first metatarsophalangeal joint la and the fifth metatarsophalangeal joint 5a. The inner longitudinal arch should have a pronounced curvature from the os calcis I8 forward to the rst metatarso-phalangeal joint Ia. The inner longitudinal arch comprises the os calcis I8, astragalus 20, scaphoid 2l, internal cuneiform 22, first metatarsal l, and first proximal phalanx 6. A breaking down of the anterior metatarsal arch usually causes the person to throw the body weight to the outer side of the'foot. The anterior metatarsal arch instead of being inthe form of a normal dome between the great toe joint and the little toe joint collapses until the second, third and fourth metatarsals some time lie in the same plane as the first and fifth metatarsals. When this takes place there is no longer a three-point bearing for the foot.

The archthat is the most likely to give way is the anterior or metatarsal arch. The placing of the triangle pad under the second, third, fourth and fifth metatarsals and the extending of the vapex of the pad back to the cuboid bone of the foot will give the properv support to the under surface of the foot and maintain the anterior metatarsal arch at the proper curve. The pad may be placed on the under surface of the semiinsole shown at B or on a full insole, not shown. It may also be placed on the permanent insole of a shoe C. Where the insertable insole is used as indicated in Figure 1, the placing of the insole in the shoe will position the pad properly with respect to the foot.

The triangular-shaped cushion A at its forward or widest end starts at the inside of the metatarso-phalanx joint at the head of the metatarsal I and extends across the rest of the anterior arch under the metatarsals 2, 3,'and 4, and completely under the metatarso-phalanx 5, and then back about Aone-half to two-thirds of the way to a position under a portion of the transverse arch F. The transverse arch extends across the foot between the cuboid I9 andthe internal cuneiform bone 22. The triangular-shaped cushion is modeled to give balance to the metatarsals 2, 3 and 4. The cushion A gradually thins to a feather edge on all sides.

The principal point to keep in mind is the provision of a pad broad enough and of sufficient varying thickness to support the second, third, fourth and fifth metatarsals 2 to 5 inclusive at the proper heights and a pad having a recess I3 to receive the second, third and fourth metatarsal heads 2a, 3a and 4a, so that no undue pressure will be applied to the heads and cause pain.

I claim:

1. vA metatarsal and outer longitudinal arch support comprising a substantially triangularshaped cushion having the base of the triangle extending under the second, third, fourth and fifth metatarsals of the foot for raising them to the proper elevation with respect to the first metatarsal'. and the apex of the triangle extending under the outer longitudinal arch, the portion of the triangle underlying/the heads of the second, third and fourth metatarsals being recessed to relieve any pressure thereagainst.

2. An article of manufacture comprising a removable insole for a shoe, a resilient metatarsal and outer longitudinal arch supporting pad secured to the under surface of the insole, said pad being substantially triangular in shape with the base of the triangle extending under the second, third, four-th and fifth metatarsals of the foot for raising them to the proper elevation with respect to the first metatarsal, and the apex of the triangle extending under the outer longitudinal arch, the portion of the triangle underlying the heads of the second, third and fourth metatarsals being recessed to provide space for these heads.

3. An article of manufacture comprisingy a removable semi-insole for a shoe, vvth the forward edge of the insole extending across the anterior metatarsal arch of the foot when the insole is placed in the shoe, a resilient metatarsal and outer longitudinal arch supporting pad secured to the insole, said pad being substantially triangular in shape with the base of the triangle coin- 6 ciding with the insole forward edge and extending from the side of the insole positioned under the fifth metatarsal to a. point lying substantially between the first and second metatarsals, the triangle base supporting the second, third, fourth and fifth metatarsals at the proper elevations for providing a normal anterior metatarsal arch for the foot, and having a recess for receiving the heads of the second, third and fourth metatarsals, the apex of the triangle being blunt and extending under the cuboid for giving support to a. portion of the transverse arch disposed the nearest to the outer longitudinal arch.

' EDWARD F. MALOUF.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

